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Air India and Air India Express on Saturday announced that they would operate a combined total of 72 scheduled and non-scheduled flights, to and from the Middle East on March 15, 2026.
Both carriers will continue operating their respective scheduled services to and from Jeddah and Muscat on March 15, including a total of 8 flights between India and Jeddah.
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Of these, Air India will operate one return service each from Delhi and Mumbai, while Air India Express will also operate one flight each from Bengaluru and Kozhikode.
Air India Express will also operate 12 scheduled flights to and from Muscat, with services from Delhi, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mangaluru, Mumbai and Thiruvananthapuram.
In addition to the scheduled services, Air India and Air India Express would operate a total of 52 non-scheduled flights to and from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, subject to availability of slots and other prevailing conditions at the departure stations at the time.
These flights are being operated with the requisite permissions from the relevant Indian and local regulatory authorities.
All Air India flights to and from North America, Europe, Australia and other regions continue to operate per schedule.
Guests booked to travel on any of the routes where Air India group’s scheduled services remain temporarily suspended may conveniently rebook to a future date at no additional charge or opt for a full refund.
Air India group said it was exploring every opportunity to operate other additional ad-hoc flights to and from destinations in Middle East.
Indian airlines have cancelled hundreds of flights since the Israel-Iran began on February 28, 2026.
The airlines are operating at reduced capacity due to airspace restrictions in Iran and Gulf countries.
Air India group has also announced a phased expansion of a fuel surcharge on its domestic and international routes.
It maintained fuel surcharge on domestic routes at Rs399 and $10 for West Asia/Middle East routes.
But increased fuel surcharge on Southeast Asia and Africa by $20 and $30 to $60 and $90, respectively.
To European destinations, it increased the fuel surcharge by $25 to $125. To North America and Australia, the airline hiked surcharge by $50 to $200.
